)ITOR'S OFERI1Elf
The Bigger Picture
T
he vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (Isa. 1:1); " . .. which he saw concerning
Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the
son of Joash king of Israel" (Amos 1:1). "The word of the Lord . . . in the
days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (Mic. 1:1).
Notice how each of these first verses begins a book in the Hebrew
Bible:
In the days of Uzziah, in the days of Hezekiah, in the days of Ahaz.
They begin with a political context. That is because the political context
cannot be separated from the social one, and the social context cannot be
separated from the spiritual context—and the writings of these prophets
are nothing if not spiritual. Thus, in their own way, the opening verses of
these books—by establishing the political background—help establish a
spiritual background, as well, one that helps us understand the
Sitz im
Leben
(life situation) in which the prophets wrote.
Kings and Chronicles, our study for this quarter, does the same
thing, only on a grander scale. These books present a framework
upon which we can put the prophets in their particular historical and
political contexts. Whereas, for example, Micah begins in "the days
of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah," Kings and Chronicles
establish the background and time line in which these kings ruled.
What about the kingship of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (much less
Jeroboam, Jehoram, Athaliah, and Josiah)? Who reigned before them,
who reigned after them, what was happening in the nations around
them, and how did that impact Israel and Judah? Though some of
these questions are answered by the prophets themselves, Kings and
Chronicles move us back so we can view the situation from a larger,
grander perspective, that of the entire flow of the history of Israel and
Judah. In short, the books give us the bigger picture.
Imagine a war and suppose that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah
write about this war from the battleground itself, as shells explode over-
head and bullets whizz past their ears. In contrast, Kings and Chronicles
read more like a historian's view, as though someone stepped back,
possibly even, in some cases, after the events, and put together various
accounts not just of individual battles but of the whole war. Thus, we are
given radically different—but divine—perspectives: some "up close"
(from the prophets), others "farther away" (from Chronicles and Kings).
Even better, sometimes Kings and Chronicles present the same material
with different twists, as well (like the Gospels, perhaps).
Of course, Kings and Chronicles are not just history. They contain
important spiritual lessons in and of themselves; many principles of
truth, of faith, and of salvation can be gleaned from their pages, just
as they can from the prophets. How much you derive from them, of
course, depends on how willing you are—through study, prayer, and
faith—to squeeze out what is there.
Don't worry; plenty remains to be squeezed out—and then some.
2